Barrett, 27, rejoiced in the victory, but there was a part of him hurting.

A Wanderers junior and member of the 2001 first-grade premiership side, Barrett had returned from playing professional rugby in Italy and opted to try his hand at rugby league with the Macquarie Scorpions.

"I had been playing rugby overseas, had done the Wanderers thing and wanted to try something different," Barrett explained.

"It was hard watching the grand final. There was a piece of me that thought I could have been a part of it."

The Scorpions missed the semi-finals in the Newcastle Rugby League. Although Barrett spent the year playing left centre in first grade, he struggled to adapt.

"To be honest, it made me miss rugby," he said.

"It was a completely different social aspect and a different game to what I was used to.

"At the start I found it difficult to get involved and we did not have a very good season, either.

"In saying that, I'm glad I gave it a go.

"I don't think I would have been as enthusiastic to play [rugby] this year if I didn't have the time off."

Barrett's return has not gone entirely to plan - he missed four weeks with a torn hamstring early on and another two for his wedding - but he and his teammates seem to have found form at the right end of the season.

"I have strung a few games together and feel as though I am starting to play some decent rugby," he said.

Two Blues coach Dan Beckett is certainly a huge fan.

"He will be a real weapon for us at the back end of the year," Beckett said.

"Some of his tackles on the weekend were out of this world, and the boys feed of that aggression.

"He is also a smart player and when he sees an opportunity to influence the game, with or without the ball, he does it.

"That is where games are won, in those moments."

Before heading to Italian Serie A club L'Aquila, Barrett played a season in Ireland at Galway and had three years at Manly, racking up 70 first-grade games.

But with his daughter, Sophia, turning two in October and a job as a project manager for Ward Civil Engineering, Barrett's days playing overseas have been put on the back burner.

"The plan is to stay in Newcastle, settle down and do all the right things," he said.

And of course there is that matter of winning a premiership.

"That would be nice too."